A vehicle monitoring system or navigation system may use third party street mapping data that shows the location of streets and other landmarks. The mapping data may include speed-by-street data that identifies a posted speed limit for certain streets. Generally, there is no method for a user to submit corrections or modifications to the mapping data, such as incorrect posted speed limits, missing streets, or road hazards. As a result, a vehicle monitoring and/or mentoring system that uses the street mapping data may inaccurately evaluate a driver's performance or give incorrect mentoring or feedback information to a driver.
Currently, insurance rates are set for broad, generalized categories of drivers and vehicles, such as those discussed above, without the capability to set future insurance rates based upon the driving habits of an individual driver. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,797,134 and 6,064,970, both entitled “Motor Vehicle Monitoring System for Determining a Cost of Insurance,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,386, entitled “Monitoring System for Determining and Communicating a Cost of Insurance,” all assigned to Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (hereinafter “the Progressive Patents”) and hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, disclose a system and method in which previously set insurance rates are adjusted, after the coverage term, based upon driver behavior during the term of the insurance contract. The Progressive Patents disclose a passive vehicle monitoring system that observes driver behavior and vehicle operation, but that does not provide any mentoring, warnings or feedback to the driver. In particular, the system described in the Progressive Patents do not provide any mentoring, warnings or feedback based upon the driver's behavior or operation of the vehicle. There is no teaching, discussion or attempt by the Progressive patents to “improve” the driver's driving performance.
The Progressive Patents and other known systems do not provide a user interface, website or portal that allows insurers to bid on providing insurance coverage to groups of one or more drivers based upon known driver performance. Instead, known systems set driver insurance rates based upon a standard insurance rating profile. The known systems do not disclose a system or method for categorizing or grading driver skill or behavior for the purpose of setting future insurance rates or for grouping drivers for consideration by insurance companies. Current systems also lack the capability for real-time metered pricing, such as calculating an insurance price, rate or premium in real-time according to how a driver drives, where a vehicle is driven, when a vehicle is driven, and under what conditions a vehicle is driven (e.g. weather, road construction, or traffic conditions). The insurance rates disclosed in known systems are based upon a driver or insured profile that is established before monitoring the driver's performance.